Earth and Mineral Sciences

College of Earth and Mineral Sciences

Sarah Ivory, associate professor of geosciences, is part of an international team awarded a six-year, $13.88 million grant to investigate how human activities, climate and wildfire have shaped landscapes and biodiversity across Africa and Arabia.

$13.9M grant to investigate how fire, climate, people shaped Africa’s landscapes | Penn State University

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Sarah Ivory, associate professor of geosciences, is part of an international team awarded a six-year, $13.88 million grant to investigate how human activities, climate and wildfire have shaped landscapes and biodiversity across Africa and Arabia.

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Research

$13.9M grant to investigate how fire, climate, people shaped Africa’s landscapes

A bottled beverage might soon come with a lower carbon footprint thanks to a new partnership between one of the world’s leading glass manufacturers and scientists at Penn State.

Verallia taps LionGlass for low-carbon glass packaging for consumer products | Penn State University

A bottled beverage might soon come with a lower carbon footprint thanks to a new partnership between one of the world’s leading glass manufacturers and scientists at Penn State.

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Verallia taps LionGlass for low-carbon glass packaging for consumer products

Engineering

College of Engineering

Despite lithium-ion batteries’ role as one of the most widely used forms of energy storage, they struggle to operate at full power in low temperatures and sometimes even explode at high temperatures. Researchers at Penn State, however, have proposed a novel design that could hold the key to effective and stable power storage in a variety of climates.

Proposed all-climate battery design could unlock stability in extreme temps | Penn State University

Despite lithium-ion batteries’ role as one of the most widely used forms of energy storage, they struggle to operate at full power in low temperatures and sometimes even explode at high temperatures. Researchers at Penn State, however, have proposed a novel design that could hold the key to effective and stable power storage in a variety of climates.

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Proposed all-climate battery design could unlock stability in extreme temps

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A pilot-scale production run and product lifecycle analysis revealed that fiber made from fermentation waste is stronger and cheaper than wool and uses far fewer resources than traditional fibers.&nbsp;

Fermentation waste used to make natural fabric | Penn State University

A pilot-scale production run and product lifecycle analysis revealed that fiber made from fermentation waste is stronger and cheaper than wool and uses far fewer resources than traditional fibers. 

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Fermentation waste used to make natural fabric

Ancient trees may have played a key role in regulating Earth’s climate during the last ice age — by breathing less efficiently. Researchers made the finding by&nbsp;examining chemical fingerprints in subfossil wood, or preserved trees, from across North America to understand how plants responded to the low carbon dioxide levels and cooler temperatures of the last&nbsp;glacial period.

Ice Age trees helped stabilize Earth's atmosphere by suffocating | Penn State University

Ancient trees may have played a key role in regulating Earth’s climate during the last ice age — by breathing less efficiently. Researchers made the finding by examining chemical fingerprints in subfossil wood, or preserved trees, from across North America to understand how plants responded to the low carbon dioxide levels and cooler temperatures of the last glacial period.

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Ice Age trees helped stabilize Earth's atmosphere by suffocating

Beaver

There’s a long-standing debate in the wild ramp community, with one faction arguing that there is only one species of the plant, while others maintain there are up to four species.&nbsp;Now, a team led by researchers at Penn State Beaver have provided the first genetic evidence supporting a second species of ramps.&nbsp;

Second species of wild ramps discovered, solving long-standing debate | Penn State University

There’s a long-standing debate in the wild ramp community, with one faction arguing that there is only one species of the plant, while others maintain there are up to four species. Now, a team led by researchers at Penn State Beaver have provided the first genetic evidence supporting a second species of ramps. 

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Second species of wild ramps discovered, solving long-standing debate

Featured Research

The discovery of a possible “super-Earth” less than 20 light-years from our own planet is offering scientists new hope in the hunt for other worlds that could harbor life, according to an international team including researchers from Penn State. They dubbed the exoplanet, named GJ 251 c, a “super-Earth” as data suggest it is almost four times as massive as the Earth and likely to be rocky planet.

Newly discovered ‘super-Earth’ offers prime target in search for alien life

A "super-Earth" exoplanet in the habitable zone of its star has been detected by an international team, including Penn State researchers, less than 20 light-years away, putting it near the top of the list for best places to look for life beyond our solar system.

'Super-Earth' less than 20 light-years away is an exciting lead in the search for life

Organic beekeeping can support healthy and productive honey bee colonies, and a new study led by researchers at Penn State found that adopting organic honey bee colony management is not only profitable, but in some cases, it can be even more profitable than conventional management.&nbsp;The research couldn't come at a more opportune time, as a separate study&nbsp;found that 2025 marked the largest-ever&nbsp;honey bee colony losses&nbsp;in the United States, citing viruses spread by parasitic mites as the culprit.&nbsp;

Researchers discover solution to major issue in beekeeping

Electric vehicles (EVs) can have&nbsp;lower fuel costs and reduce emissions&nbsp;relative to cars that use gasoline, but they are only a practical option if drivers have convenient ways to charge them. For people who live in multi-unit dwellings or in urban areas, access to charging infrastructure may be particularly limited, which in turn limits EV adoption. To address this issue, a team of researchers at Penn State created a scalable framework to develop, analyze and evaluate using streetlights as a low-cost, equitable EV charging option.&nbsp;

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An ancient society near the southern shores of Lake Titicaca in modern-day Bolivia was once one of the continent’s most powerful civilizations. Known as Tiwanaku, the ancient society is widely considered by archaeologists to be one of the earliest examples of civilization in the Andes and a precursor of the Inca empire, but it mysteriously disappeared about a thousand years ago. Now, a team led by scientists at Penn State and in Bolivia have discovered a Tiwanaku temple, shedding new light on what the society looked like in its prime.

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Electric space heating systems and appliances like water heaters can help American homeowners reduce their energy use, and possibly their utility bills, according to a team led by researchers at Penn State.

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The violent collision and merger of two black holes emits gravitational waves — ripples in spacetime — that can cause the resulting newborn black hole to recoil and rapidly move, sometimes escaping its own galaxy. Now, an international team that includes a Penn State researcher has measured the direction of this recoil for the first time, as well as its speed.&nbsp;

 Scientists detect strange signal in gravitational waves

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Broken bones often heal naturally with time, a cast, or a brace. But when fractures are complex or severe, doctors rely on implants or surgical devices. Now, researchers at Penn State say they have created a biodegradable scaffold that could speed recovery while reducing complications.

Study: Broken bones regrow quickly with help of biodegradable implant

Floods are some of the most devastating natural disasters communities in the United States face, causing billions of dollars of damage annually, according to the&nbsp;National Weather Service. A group, including several researchers at Penn State, recently developed a computational model to streamline flood prediction in the continental United States.

Researchers develop intelligent tech that predicts future disasters

A research team led by&nbsp;Penn State has developed a sensor that can help diagnose diabetes and prediabetes on-site in a few minutes using just a breath sample.&nbsp;Previous diagnostic methods often used glucose found in blood or sweat, but this sensor detects acetone levels in the breath.

Breath test that can help diagnose diabetes developed at Penn State

Plants appear still, yet inside they are alive with communication. They must continuously balance how to capture energy without losing too much water. For decades, scientists suspected there were internal messengers guiding this process, but the exact molecules remained unidentified.&nbsp;A new study led by&nbsp;Penn State&nbsp;researchers finally reveals the nature of these signals. This work not only solves a long-standing mystery but also suggests new directions for&nbsp;agriculture&nbsp;and plant resilience research.

Scientists discover hidden messengers tell plants when to eat and breathe

If an extraterrestrial intelligence were looking for signs of human communications, when and where should they look? In a new study, researchers at Penn State and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California analyzed when and where human deep space transmissions would be most detectable by an observer outside our solar system and suggest that the patterns they see could be used to guide our own search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).

Study: Planetary alignments may hold the key to detecting alien life

A research team led by Penn State faculty member Igor Aronson explored how micro-sized robots can use sound waves to coordinate into large swarms that exhibit intelligent-like behavior.&nbsp;

Tiny robots can self-organize and communicate using sound, study finds

Phones, laptops, and electric cars all run on a single silvery metal that is tough to get out of the ground. Conventional techniques roast lithium-rich rocks at blast-furnace temperatures, soak them in acid, and burn through hours of energy, cash, and time. Now, researchers at Penn State say there is a simpler, faster route that works with little more than water and a pantry-grade chemical.

Scientists extract 99% of lithium from rocks using a simple water solution

Though scientists have long understood how lightning strikes, the precise atmospheric events that trigger it within thunderclouds remained a perplexing mystery. The mystery may be solved, thanks to a team of researchers led by&nbsp;Victor Pasko, professor of electrical engineering in the Penn State School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.